No, Kamala, Foreign Policy Isn’t That Simple

By Aaron Kliegman On Wednesday night, Kamala Harris was asked to define America’s proper role in the world. To answer the moderator’s question on American leadership abroad, Harris invoked her senior running mate, Joe Biden. “I think said it quite well. He says, ‘Foreign policy, it might sound complicated, but really it’s relationships.’ Just think about it as relationships.” Now, if Harris were speaking at her high school’s Model UN club, this answer would have been passable. Who knew foreign policy was so simple? Imagine how much better the world would be today had we known. Unfortunately for the American people, she was speaking at the vice-presidential debate. It sounded astoundingly naïve from the person vying to be one heartbeat away from the presidency. But, to Harris, it seems foreign policy is Model UN in practice; idealism from the classroom translates well to the real world. This is a dangerous delusion — a delusion revealed by full her response on Wednesday. Harris continued: “So, we know this in our personal and professional relationships: You got to keep your word to your friends, got to be loyal to your friends. People who’ve stood with, you got to stand with them. You got to know who your adversaries are and keep them in check. But what we have seen with Donald Trump is that he has betrayed our friends and embraced dictators around the world.” First, the obvious point: International relations are incredibly complex. Geography, ideology, and history are among the countless factors that profoundly affect how countries interact with each other. To simplify all of that complexity down to one element, relationships, is irresponsible — and frankly insulting to the experts who study this subject. More disturbingly, Harris seems to have a deep and fundamental misunderstanding of foreign policy, which is about interests, not relationships. Indeed, relationships are means to advance America’s national interests, not ends in themselves. Popularity is great, but only in so far as it helps the US foster peace, stability, and prosperity. And yet, when asked to detail what America should be doing in the world, Harris just discussed managing relationships. She never mentioned anything about the US pursuing its interests through concrete actions — unlike Vice President Mike Pence, who defined America’s proper role in the world by detailing steps the Trump administration took (from destroying the Islamic State’s caliphate to pushing NATO to contribute more to the alliance’s common defense) to make Americans safer and richer. There’s a reason for this contrast: Harris sees the US first and foremost as a convener in the world, not a doer. To elaborate, here’s Bernie Sanders’s foreign policy adviser, Matt Duss, from an interview last year: “ sees the US as a kind of global facilitator by virtue of our enormous economic, diplomatic power. The US has the ability to bring parties, states, and people around tables to address common challenges that really no other country has. “That doesn't mean that the US needs to run to the head of every parade or be in charge of everything — certainly not. But the US does have a role to play in facilitating multilateral cooperation, conversation, and innovation.” This is how Harris sees America’s role in the world: as a host who gathers leaders to discuss global issues at a round table, each with an equal say, not at a rectangular one with America at the head. The US invites the guests, sets the table, and moderates the discussion. That’s how America leads. But when it comes to taking action, well, we’re back to leading from behind. In such a scenario, American foreign policy really is just about relationships, and Harris’s answer makes perfect sense. Of course, under a Harris-Biden administration, Harris’s vision of foreign policy would fail even on its own flawed terms. When Biden was vice president, the US reached out to authoritarians, undermined the spread of democracy, betrayed and threatened allies (in both the Middle East and Europe), and rejected the notion that credibility is important to American foreign policy. If Harris wants the US to keep its word to friends and build relationships, she should tell her running mate. And she should look in the mirror. We know, for example, she wants to re-enter the Iran nuclear deal, which every Middle Eastern partner of the United States adamantly opposes. Clearly relationships matter in foreign policy, as they do in all aspects of life. But Harris doesn’t seem to understand that America, like all countries, is in the business of advancing its interests. The world is a jungle full of predators, not a meeting of Model UN. Order Newt's Latest Book: https://www.gingrich360.com/trump-and-the-american-future